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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
B. K. Shukla
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 65 | Number 1 | January 2014 | Pages 145-153
Lecture | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-647
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The 82.6 GHz/200 kW and 42 GHz/500 kW electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) systems will be used in Tokamak SST-1 to carry out preionization and start-up experiments at 3.0- and 1.5-T operation. The 82.6-GHz gyrotron system has been tested for continuous waves (1000-s duration) using a conventional high-voltage power supply and for pulsed operation (200 kW for 1 s) using a regulated high-voltage power supply. The 42-GHz ECRH system is a pulsed system (500 ms), which will be used to carry out preionization and start-up experiments at 1.5 T (fundamental harmonic) on SST-1 and at 0.75 T (second harmonic) on Tokamak Aditya. The circular corrugated waveguide-based transmission line system contains two waveguide switches: one to test the gyrotron on a dummy load or the tokamak and the second switch to launch the ECRH power, either in SST-1 or in Aditya. The 42-GHz system has been tested on a dummy load, and the gyrotron delivers 500-kW power at beam voltage ∼49 kV and beam current ∼18 A. The output of the gyrotron is Gaussian (TEM00 mode) with mode purity >99%. The system is commissioned on both tokamaks (SST-1 and Aditya) to launch power in any tokamak.